


The Only Choice

by crescent_gaia



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: AU for AoS 1x19 (Turn Turn Turn), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, vague talk of abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2017-07-11
Packaged: 2018-11-21 18:16:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11362941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crescent_gaia/pseuds/crescent_gaia
Summary: Grant Ward must make a choice - will it be the right one?





	The Only Choice

**Author's Note:**

  * For [klutzy_girl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/klutzy_girl/gifts).



> There be spoilers for the episode mentioned in the tags and then I ran with it. Please enjoy.

Ward was starting to regret asking to personally lock Garrett in a cell in the Fridge. He tried staying as far away as he could from his former mentor, hoping nobody noticed, and only interacting when it was necessary. He could swear that Skye picked up on it, as it seemed like she made sure that he wasn’t paired up with Garrett during the hunt, but he hoped nobody else did. At least, nobody else but the woman who was also on the plane. Coulson talking about Hand being the Clairvoyant wasn’t too far off – she seemed to know everything, even more than Coulson himself sometimes. 

So lost in thought, he didn’t even notice when she was offering him a gun. He looked at her questioningly.

“Thought you might want to shoot the real Clairvoyant,” she said.

He nodded, taking the gun that felt fifty times heavier than it normally did. There were three choices. Shoot Garrett and fully shield himself in SHIELD, staying with Coulson’s team, and seeing just how far it could go with Skye. Shoot Hand and it was over. He would be fully in HYDRA and any point of help would be cut off. He would have to be with his tormentor full time, but there was the chance that he could, in time, advance farther than Garrett. The third… the third was to do nothing. To admit that he was broken, that he needed help, and give Garrett the satisfaction that the damage was done. To be of neither worlds, until he saw a shrink and was signed off on, and riding a desk or wherever they decided to dump him.

Of course, there was a fourth option, but he didn’t think they’d let him jump off the plane. Or shoot himself in the head. That wasn’t going to work.

Instead, he took a breath and pulled the trigger.

*~*~*~*

“Got a minute?” Skye asked as she found Coulson.

“Yep,” Coulson replied, not looking up from the files that he was going through.

“Might need more attention than that.”

He smiled and put away the files, looking up and stopped smiling as he saw how serious she was. “What’s wrong?”

“Ward. It’s just something off with the past few days and working with Garrett on the bus. He’s usually upbeat and willing to talk with anyone. He looked relieved when the assignments put him with Trip. There’s just… is there something there I should know about my trainer? Or should I leave well enough alone?”

“Bit of both,” Coulson said. “Vic always thought that something was wrong with Garrett but I never listened. She talked about Garrett having a secret training program for someone he found in a juvenile detention center and leaving him out in the woods. A kid, alone, just with a dog. Turns out that Grant Ward knows how to survive with just a dog by his side.”

“So that and his issues with his brother… doesn’t sound healthy.”

“It’s not,” he admitted. “Which is why, when Vic figured out what was happening and the schedule Garrett was keeping with looking after Ward, she went to talk to him. I don’t know if she was successful in turning him or not.”

“… you know all of this but let him go off on that plane?”

He held up the file that he was reading, showing the tab that said it was Ward’s personal file. “Her personal file on him. She told me where to find it and gave me a goodbye kiss. She doesn’t think that she’s coming back. I have faith.”

“Glad someone other than me does,” she said. She was about to say more when her phone rang. “Yeah?”

“Hi,” Ward said on the other end, sounding quiet.

“Hi,” she said back. “You okay?”

“No,” he admitted and sighed. “Are you by Coulson?”

“Depends. Who’s dead?”

“Garrett. We’re turning back. Dumping his body… somewhere. I don’t know where. But are you going to be around?” he asked.

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Positions switched, I don’t know if I would be,” he admitted quietly. 

“Well, that’s the difference between you and me. See you soon, okay?”

“Okay,” he said and hung up.

“Be careful with that,” Coulson warned. “Make sure that you don’t disappear in giving too much of yourself.”

She nodded. “I’ll also give you a heads up if he’s a danger to himself or can’t continue duties. If you want me to. I mean – I don’t want him sidelined but I also don’t want him hurt.”

“It’s a fine line,” he said. “As someone dealing with his own issues and people helping… well, just make sure that he doesn’t ice his helper. Also, I’m going to reassign you to May. What you’re going to attempt to do… it’s best if he’s not also the person you report to. In case you find out something you don’t like.”

“Fair enough. Doubt I will, but you’re right.” She grinned. “You need to go apologize to May about that.”

“I will.”

“You’re hiding,” she pointed out. 

“Doing work, making sure my team is going to be okay,” he said. “But I get the point.” He put the file in her hands. “Hand it back to Vic when she gets in.”

“Yeah,” she said, taking it and taking the seat that Coulson got up out of. Opening the file, she scanned the basics of Ward’s life, nothing she didn’t know, and it went to the well incident. From there, it went to setting fire to his parents’ home with the rest of his family in it and then the stint in juvie. There were various comments here and there, mostly words like ‘unstable but focused’ and ‘chameleon’, and read about what Garrett did with the training. “Four and a half years,” she said quietly.

“Felt like longer,” Ward said from behind her.

Skye jumped, nearly letting go of the file, and closed it. She stood up, handing the file to Hand, and waited for Hand to leave. When she was gone, Skye moved and hugged Ward tightly.

He hugged her back, nearly as tight, and rested his head on hers. “Why?”

“There’s an old story… not sure where I heard it from. This guy’s walking down a street and he falls into a hole and the walls are so steep that he can’t get out. A doc passes by and the guy goes ‘Hey, you, can you help me out?’ but the doctor writes a script, throws it in the hole, and walks on. A priest comes by – guy asks the same question – the priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole, and moves on. But his friend walks by and the guy goes ‘Hey, Joe, it’s me, can you help me out?’ and Joe jumps in the hole. The guy’s like ‘are you nuts? Now we’re both down here’. And the friend says ‘yeah, but I’ve been down here before and I know the way out’.” She moved, looking up at him, and smiled. “It might not have been in the same way, but yeah, I’ve been down here before and I do know the way out.”

“I don’t think I have it in me to become a super star hacker.”

She grinned. “I could whip you into shape in no time.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, well, it’d be a miracle.”

“I like miracles,” she said and sighed. “Can I ask?”

“Why I shot him? I… I almost didn’t. I nearly shot Hand but then it would mean eternity with him. With HYDRA. I would stop being myself and turn into… into I have no clue what. I nearly didn’t shoot at all but I don’t want to be sidelined. I had to make a choice.”

She softly kissed him. “Thank you. Do you think you made the right one?”

“Yes,” he said. “Is this going to be weird?”

“Nope. You’re not my training officer anymore though. May is.”

“She’ll put you through the ringer. More than I did, but you’re up for it,” he said and sighed. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I really don’t want to talk.”

“Then we won’t, right now, but door’s open when you want to.”

He grinned and kissed her again, staying close. Sure, it was going to get more complicated before it would get better, but the right choice was made.

**Author's Note:**

> Skye's story about the guy in the hole is taken from West Wing's season 2 Christmas episode _Noel_.


End file.
